Japonica Humboldtiana 16 (2013)

JAPONICA HUMBOLDTIANA 16 (2013) Contents TOVE BJÖRK The Economic Structure of Edo Kabuki Theatres Ichikawa Danjūrō II as a Kyōhō Period (1716–35) Manager ........ 5 CLAUDIA HÜRTER Die Haiku-Sammlung “Pflaumenblüten im Schaltmond” (Urū no ume, 1727). In Auszügen übersetzt, annotiert und eingeleitet. Dritter Teil: Herbstgedichte .................................. 47 JAMES MCMULLEN The Worship of Confucius in Hiroshima ....................................... 83 JOHN TIMOTHY WIXTED The Matching-Rhyme Kanshi of Mori Ôgai Quatrains (zekku) ........................................................................... 109 HARTMUT WALRAVENS Zur Erforschung japanischer Stūpas Teil I — F. M. Trautz’ Übersetzung von Itō Chūtas Nihon buttō kenchiku no enkaku (1899) Eingeleitet und herausgegeben ...................................................... 169 Book Review MARKUS RÜTTERMANN Audienzen und Texte Rezension zu Tomita Masahiro, Chūsei kuge seiji monjoron (“Untersuchungen zum administrativen Korrespondenz- schrifttum des mittelalterlichen Hofadels”) .................................... 235 The Economic Structure of Edo Kabuki Theatres Ichikawa Danjūrō II as a Kyōhō Period (1716–35) Manager Tove Björk, Tokyo Kabuki is the representative stage art of the increasingly urban society of early modern Japan and a result of the accumulation of wealth in the social strata of merchants and manufacturers. At the same time, theatres were cores of economic networks supporting a wide range of entrepreneurs. Within this system, lead actors were the prime movers, but they also required wages so high that the theatre turnover often failed to cover expenses. This fundamental flaw shaped the economic structure of the early modern entertainment business.1 In the beginning of the Edo period, a variety of more or less permanent theatres flourished both in the old capital Kyoto and the new center Edo. In an attempt to create order in the cities, the bakufu issued licenses for a limited number of theatres, the first of which was Nakamura Za, which opened south of the Nakabashi (present Kyōbashi) bridge in Edo in 1624. The holder of a license, namely the zamoto 座元2, was in many cases only a figurehead. Real management could be handled by a variety of figures. In the Kansai area, legal and economic responsibility was divided between the kōgyō nushi 興行主, who was responsible for management and the zamoto, who was responsible for staging the shows. The licenses were often bought and sold, creating both legal and economic flexibility. In Edo, management and staging of shows were under the authority of the zamoto and the licenses were hereditary, passing from father to son making the system stable but inflexible.3 1 HATTORI 1974: 151–56. 2 Za means ‘seat’, and was used for literary and artistic groups ‘sitting together’ since the He- ian period. From the medieval period, it was used for professional guilds too. By extension, during the Edo period, za was used for the theatre as a building and the companies perform- ing in them. 3 HAYASHI 1985: 1–18. Japonica Humboldtiana 16 (2013) 6 Tove Björk This article first looks at the financial aspects of theatre business, consider- ing capacity, entrance fees, actor’s wages and the role of investors. Secondly, it analyzes the central figure of the world of kabuki during the Kyōhō period, Ichikawa Danjūrō II’s diary records concerning his day-to-day activities back- stage, focusing on the internal management of the Ichimura Za in the autumn of 1734. Danjūrō II (1688 – 1758, pen name Saigyū 才牛, after 1735 Ichikawa Ebizō 市川海老蔵, pen name Hakuen 柏莚) was the eldest son of Danjūrō I, and inherited the name Danjūrō and the aragoto 荒事 (bombastic) acting style at the age of 17, when his father was killed by a fellow actor at the Ichimura Za in 1704. Danjūrō II is famous for fusing aragoto acting with other styles, the most famous example being the role of the elegant but strong Hanakawado Sukeroku. After recovering from a severe illness in 1735, he passed on the name of Danjūrō to his adopted son, Danjūrō III, who died in 1742 at the age of 21. In 1754, the name was given to Matsumoto Kōshirō II, who became Danjūrō IV. Danjūrō II died in 1758 at the age of 71, having firmly established his acting house Naritaya in the world of kabuki. The house still holds a central place today and, among other things, patronizes a select list of famous acts called the Kabuki jūhachi ban 歌舞伎十八番 (The Eighteen [Great] Kabuki [Plays]), including the above-mentioned Sukeroku and many more roles cre- ated by Danjūrō II. During the Kyōhō period, the structural problems of Edo theatres were largely overlooked, because of the income generated by numerous spectators. However, the problems became apparent, when economic recession caused by contemporary fiscal reforms hit society. The recession revealed for the first time the graveness of the situation, as with the incident that led to the establishment of the hikae yagura 控え櫓 (lit. ‘back-up turret’) system of inter- changeable business licenses. In 1734, one of the three major Edo theatres, the Morita Za was forced to cease operations and apply for kyūza 休座4 due to cash flow insolvency. Records from the magistrate proceedings are preserved in a handwritten copy, included in Collection of Old Documents 旧記拾葉集 (Kyūki shūyō shū) called Memorandum on Inspections of Kabuki and Puppet Theatres and 4 Lit. “resting theatre”, meaning that the establishment would cease operating to prevent accumulation of more debt, and stay closed until the investors were re-paid (to a certain ex- tent). The holder of the business permit, the zamoto, would not lose the license as such and could re-open again once the debts had been repaid. Japonica Humboldtiana 16 (2013) The Economic Structure of Edo Kabuki Theatres 7 other Investigations 芝居狂言座操座並其外上覧見分御用 (Shibai kyōgen za ayatsuri za narabi ni sono hoka jōran kenbun goyō: On the 18th day of the 8th month, the zodiac year of the tiger Kyōhō 19 [1734], Yahei, Denbei and Kyūhei from the 5th square of the Kobiki quarters called on Kan’ya, the owner of the theatre they had lent land to. Kan’ya had, due to the depression, an outstanding rent of 535 gold ryō, 9 silver monme 5 bun5. He also had other debts to be claimed. Therefore, the landlords will take back their land beginning this spring.6 In short, the zamoto of Morita Za, Morita Kan’ya IV 森田勘彌 (?–1743) was sued by his landlords for unpaid debts, and because he was neither able to pay, nor could he provide any assurance of doing so in the near future, the landlords reclaimed the land the theatre was built on. On the same day, Danjūrō II wrote in his diary that where Morita Za had been, there was now a vacant lot, indi- cating that the building had been torn down to make room for a new tenant. It is possible that the tools and timber were seized to cover the remaining debt. Further analysis of this case shows that the state of insolvency persisted for a considerable length of time. Some seven years earlier, in 1727, the deficit had been as high as 1,305 ryō, and at this time the landlords agreed to accept half of the ticket sales directly and took over management of the Morita Za. This system functioned well up until 1732, when more than half of the debt had been re-paid. At this point the landowners decided that it was time to return managerial powers to the Morita Kan’ya family. However, they stipulated that re-payment should continue at a rate of half a ryō per day.7 Despite this, up until the 8th month of 1734, less than 1% of the remaining debt had been re- paid. Finally, the the landlords lost patience and decided to evict the Morita Za from the property. Yet, the landlords felt responsible for the people of the Kobiki quarters. Thus, to avoid mass unemployment, they served as guarantors when Kawara- 5 The exchange rates varied but in order to facilitate comparisons generally the rate 1 gold ryō 両, 小判 koban = 64 silver monme 匁 = 4,000 copper mon 文, 銭 zeni is used. 6 JKG: 8th day of the 8th month of the Kyōhō 19 [1734]. 木挽町五丁目弥兵衛、伝兵衛、久兵衛地借狂言座勘弥申上候、近年芝居不繁昌ニ付地代金五百三十五両壱分、銀九匁五分相滞、並借金等催促ニ逢。当春地主共御預申上済被仰付. N.B.: When quoting diaries and chronological records, the date rather than the page number of the entry will be referred to also in edited documents, as this makes confirmation with both original source and various editions easier. 7 HATTORI 1974: 155. Japonica Humboldtiana 16 (2013) 8 Tove Björk saki Za applied for a permit to operate a kabuki theatre the following year. In 1735, temporary licenses, or so-called hikae yagura business permits were invented. These permits gave three substitutes – the Kawarasaki Za 河原崎座, the Kiri Za 桐座 and the Miyako Za 都座 – the right to temporarily replace “the three [licensed] kabuki theatres of Edo” 江戸三座 (Edo sanza) – the Nakamura Za 中村座, the Ichimura Za 市村座 and the Morita Za 森田座 – in the case of their insolvency. This system preserved smooth running of businesses in the theatre quarters and enabled enterprises to survive until the Meiji Restoration without addressing its structural weaknesses. Previous research on Edo kabuki confirms the above-mentioned problem, but, except for Hattori Yukio’s analysis, there is little in-depth research on the structure of the early modern entertainment business, and even less is known about the role of the actors within this system. For example, it is unclear why the magistrate continually granted theatres the hikae yagura permissions, al- though they continued to break their promises of expense control, or, how a zamoto, who had applied for kyūza could re-pay his debts and re-open his theatre later, or, why actors could continue to extract untenable wages.

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